Forbidden Worlds #46

During World War II, Lieutenant J. G. Thomas Andrews is the lone survivor of an American submarine destroyed by a Nazi naval squadron, only to be rescued by inhabitants of a hidden underwater civilization and brought before their mighty ruler, Ta-Zaken. Assigned to interrogation by the formidable Roma, Tom finds himself caught between the underwater empire's fierce hatred for surface dwellers and his growing realization that this extraordinary world—and the woman questioning him—are far more complex than he imagined.

Edward Mercer's lifelong fascination with an ancient Egyptian pharaoh named Sesostran takes a startling turn when he writes a fictionalized account of the king's life while recovering from a wartime injury—only to discover that the pharaoh's tomb has been unearthed with historical records that match his imaginary story in every detail. Now in Egypt for his honeymoon with his new bride Sally, Mercer finds himself face to face with a statue of Sesostran that bears an uncanny resemblance to himself, while Egyptologist Mitchell and his colleagues press him for explanations he cannot give. As the ancient tablets reveal more truths about the pharaoh's past, Mercer begins to realize there may be far more connecting him to Sesostran than mere coincidence.

Ornithologists band a group of pigeons for migration research, hoping to track their travels across the country. Two years later, while duck hunting in North Carolina, the researchers recover one of their marked birds—but it's something that shouldn't exist: a passenger pigeon, a species extinct long before their study began. What impossible journey did this bird take, and how can science explain what they've found?

Edmund Gibson, a brilliant rocket scientist consumed with the dream of exploring outer space, leads a team at a Nevada testing facility where an extraordinary discovery unfolds: a monkey named Jojo, exposed repeatedly to the extreme speeds and altitudes of their rocket tests, begins to develop human-level intelligence at an astonishing rate. As Jojo learns to speak, read, and master complex subjects—even contributing valuable technical insights to the rocket program—Gibson and his colleague Frank Perkins watch in amazement, unaware that their creation's growing mind is grappling with a profound and troubling question about his own place in the world.